irony
205
4.6
- noun
- /ˈaɪrəni/
:
ironía
- We recognize the irony that the collective is only as strong as the sum of our individual contributions.
- irony of the situation
- cruel irony
- bitter irony
And the, and the even thicker irony is, is she won a silver medal at the Olympics.
- And the, and the even thicker irony is, is she won a silver medal at the Olympics.
- So that irony though might be turning around.
- And the irony is, so this is full confession.
- Yeah, the the fact that people like that don't see the irony is really depressing to me.
- And so the irony is all the more, you know, palpable.
- But if you've got subtitles, then that was the irony with the Reman movie.
- And I think that that irony persists, right?
- Like for me it's there's so many ironies.
- But the more they looked down on him, that was the irony.
Examples
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It was a classic case of irony when the fire station burned down.
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For Black Americans, the irony is that the manufacturing jobs now being lost were only recently won.
Academic text (1992) -
Now let us not miss the irony which is easy to miss.
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So the irony is that...
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That was good business on your part, if a bit deep in irony.
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To Alex, the irony was that nobody seemed to find any of it amazing.
Fiction book (1990) -
The audience knows more than the actors on stage, and dramatic irony results.
Academic text (1999) -
The irony is that most of the stores... destroyed during the riots were owned by black people.
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The irony is that I took for granted I'd outlive you all.
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Somehow, it would be a fitting irony if the queen of fashion coverage was sightless.
Fiction book (1994)
Antonyms
Compounds
- Literature
1
5.6
A situation where the audience knows something important that the characters do not know in a play or film
- Formal
Acting like you do not know while asking questions to show problems in someone's ideas
How Ironic
Surface Forms
Etymology
Irony also comes from the same Greek idea eironeia of 'pretending not to know', which creates a gap between what is expected and what actually happens. That's why an irony in life is a situation where the result is the opposite of what you thought, often with a surprising or funny twist.